The annual herb of the
mint familyLamiaceae or Labiatae, also known as the mint family, is a family of plants. It has been considered closely related to Verbenaceae but several recent phylogenetic studies have shown that numerous genera classified in Verbenaceae belong instead in Lamiaceae, whereas the core genera of Verbenaceae...
Trichostema lanceolatum is commonly known as
vinegar weed because its foliage contains volatile oils that have a strong
vinegarVinegar is an acidic liquid processed from the fermentation of ethanol in a process that yields its key ingredient, acetic acid. It also may come in a diluted form. The acetic acid concentration typically ranges from 4 to 8 percent by volume for table vinegar and higher concentrations for pickling...
odor. Other common names for the plant include
terpentine weed and
camphor weed. The oils also have phytotoxic properties, which help vinegar weed compete by killing or injuring other plant species. Indians of northern
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
used the plant as a cold and fever remedy, a pain reliever, and a
fleaFlea is the common name for insects of the order Siphonaptera which are wingless insects whose mouthparts are adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood....
repellent.
Vinegar weed is a wildflower bearing striking purple-blue flowers on short green stems. The numerous leaves are juicy and green and are covered in fluffy hairs.
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The annual herb of the
mint familyLamiaceae or Labiatae, also known as the mint family, is a family of plants. It has been considered closely related to Verbenaceae but several recent phylogenetic studies have shown that numerous genera classified in Verbenaceae belong instead in Lamiaceae, whereas the core genera of Verbenaceae...
Trichostema lanceolatum is commonly known as
vinegar weed because its foliage contains volatile oils that have a strong
vinegarVinegar is an acidic liquid processed from the fermentation of ethanol in a process that yields its key ingredient, acetic acid. It also may come in a diluted form. The acetic acid concentration typically ranges from 4 to 8 percent by volume for table vinegar and higher concentrations for pickling...
odor. Other common names for the plant include
terpentine weed and
camphor weed. The oils also have phytotoxic properties, which help vinegar weed compete by killing or injuring other plant species. Indians of northern
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
used the plant as a cold and fever remedy, a pain reliever, and a
fleaFlea is the common name for insects of the order Siphonaptera which are wingless insects whose mouthparts are adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood....
repellent.
Vinegar weed is a wildflower bearing striking purple-blue flowers on short green stems. The numerous leaves are juicy and green and are covered in fluffy hairs. The plant is well adapted to its native range in California, where it thrives in dry, nutrient-poor, sun-baked clay soil. In hot weather the vinegar smell of the plant becomes intense as the oils in the tissues permeate the air. The plants of this genus are sometimes called
blue curls, but this name may be more associated with the similar, but sweeter smelling, species
Trichostema lanatumTrichostema lanatum is a small evergreen shrub or sub-shrub native to arid coastal regions of California. It is many-branched and grows to 1.5 m tall, with narrow, pointed green leaves. The smooth-petaled blue flowers are born in dense clusters, with the stem and calyces covered in woolly hairs...
. Vinegar weed is found on the west coast of
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
from northern
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
to southern
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
External links
Further reading
Heisey, R.M. & C.C. Delwiche. (1984). Phytotoxic volatiles from
Trichostema lanceolatum (Labiatae).
American Journal of Botany 71, 821-8.